It's always been a mystery how much Premier League referees are paid - but now it's finally been revealed
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Premier League referees are highly-scrutinised individuals having their every decision argued with, championed and ridiculed - and now it's been revealed how much they actually earn.
While Premier League footballers earn millions upon millions of pounds every season - for some, it takes just a matter of weeks - referees in England's top flight aren't quite as handsomely paid.
Though it's still an extremely good wedge to take home, you might be surprised to see how much Premier League referees are actually paid.
How much are Premier League referees paid?
Referee Anthony Taylor (Image credit: Getty Images)
According to The Athletic, Premier League referees are paid either £73,191 a year, £105,257, or £147,258, depending on how experienced they are at the top level and their rank within the PGMOL.
In addition, they are paid an extra £1,116 per game they officiate. That means if one of the highest-regarded referees in the Premier League works across all 38 games in a season, they could earn £189,666 in a single campaign - and that's before factoring in the additional £837 they're awarded for working as the video assistant referee (VAR).
On top of that, the report suggests that bonuses are also awarded per game based on performance levels, which are dependent on how many "key match incidents" a referee correctly calls.
Referee Simon Hooper at Brentford (Image credit: Getty Images)
Those figures don't take into account a referee officiating European and international matches, either, highlighting the potential earnings of a top-level official.
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In Spain, however, La Liga referees earn a higher fixed salary of £124,256, with an additional £4,205 match fee awarded - or £2,102 for a VAR. Bizarrely, officials in La Liga are also paid for advertising the Wurth Group on their kits during games, which equates to an extra £21,929 a year.
Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.
